By SUZANNE DOWNING
July 25, 2026 – My great-great-uncle was Gov. Peter Hardeman Burnett, the first governor of the Territory of California and the state of California.
Peter Burnett, for whom my brother is named, led a wagon train from Independence, Missouri to Oregon in 1843 and became part of the pioneer generation that helped settle the Oregon Country, which became the Oregon Territory. He farmed and had business ventures, some that failed. And he became Supreme Judge of the Provisional Government of Oregon.
He then led a wagon train from the north down to California, as an early leader in the California Gold Rush. He was elected governor in 1849, before California was formally admitted to the Union, and served as its first governor after statehood.
I am a descendant of that Burnett pioneer family. It is part of my biography and my family history. My maiden name is Burnett. My family came to Alaska when my own father headed north in search for gold 10 years after statehood, very much in the vein of his family history of pushing to new frontiers.
According to a peculiar standard now being applied to candidate for governor Bernadette Wilson, however, perhaps I should never mention it.
Four members of the Hickel family have written a letter objecting to Wilson referring to her great-uncle, former Alaska Gov. Walter J. “Wally” Hickel, while introducing herself to voters.
They sent the letter to political writer Jeff Landfield, who posted it on social media for the world to see. From there, Republicans supporting other candidates eagerly circulated it. Viciously circulated it. Even two of Wilson’s Republican competitors joined in, apparently hoping the letter would diminish her candidacy.
All of this is meant to shame Wilson into removing Wally Hickel from her own family story.
What a strange place politics has taken us.
Wally Hickel is not an obscure name that Wilson pulled out of an old genealogy book. He served twice as governor of Alaska and served as secretary of the Interior under President Richard Nixon. He was a builder, a statehood advocate, a resource-development visionary and one of the most consequential figures in Alaska history.
He was also Bernadette Wilson’s great-uncle. She knew him.
That is a biological and historical fact. A scathing political letter leaked to social media cannot alter a family tree.
Candidates routinely tell voters where they came from, who influenced them and which parts of their upbringing shaped their beliefs. Remember “The Man From Hope,” Bill Clinton? Remember “Dreams From My Father” Barack Obama? Describing family lineage is especially true for candidates who have not previously held public office and who are introducing themselves to voters for the first time.
Is she now supposed to pretend one side of her family does not exist because a few relatives support someone else? (Also strange that one of the letter signers had contributed $500 to her campaign. Just odd.)
Wilson’s campaign biography refers to her grandmother, who was born in Naknek, as well her great-uncle Wally Hickel. Both are part of her Alaska story.
She is Alaska Native through her grandmother’s side and is a member of a federally recognized tribe. Her Native lineage reaches back thousands of years in Alaska. If elected, she will be the first Alaska Native to serve as governor.
May she refer to that heritage, or must she first secure the political approval of every distant cousin?
The entire premise is absurd.
Families disagree about politics. Sometimes they disagree bitterly.
Look at Alaska Congressman Nick Begich. He is a Republican from a family famous for producing Democrats. His uncle Tom Begich is now running for governor as a Democrat and may well advance to the general election, where he will face Bernadette Wilson. Nick’s uncles Tom and Mark Begich have supported Democrats running against him, including Mary Peltola. They’ll oppose Bernadette, while it’s likely Nick will support her.
Nobody claims that Tom Begich may speak about his father, the late Congressman Nick Begich, but his Republican nephew may not speak about his grandfather.
The family history belongs to all of them, even when their politics diverge.
President Donald Trump’s niece Mary Trump has made a public career out of savaging her uncle. Her attacks do not erase the family relationship. They merely demonstrate that political and personal disagreements can exist within even the most famous families.
Wilson responded to the Hickel letter in a video released Saturday, and she did so with more grace than many people would have managed under the circumstances. More grace than I would have mustered, that is for certain.
Sitting with books about her great-uncle, including one containing a personal inscription to her, Wilson did not strike back at her relatives. She did not question their motives or deny them the right to disagree with her. Instead, she made the larger and more important point: Alaska’s history does not belong exclusively to one family, one individual or one political campaign.
It belongs to Alaska. Here’s the video on X:
Yup, that's what I said – and you can quote me on that!#BernadetteForGovernor#MikeShower pic.twitter.com/kQmDI9Erb5
— Bernadette Wilson (@Bernadette4Gov) July 25, 2026
Wilson spoke about learning from the state’s past visionaries and using their ideas to find a pathway forward. She concluded by encouraging Alaskans to cherish the state’s history.
It was a composed and gracious answer to an attack that was designed to be personal and humiliating.
There have been some savage attacks on Wilson from one particular Republican candidate and a handful of that candidate’s supporters. The intensity says more about those making the attacks than it does about Wilson.
This kind of red-on-red political violence is particularly sad when it comes from campaigns trailing far behind. Instead of making a compelling case for their own candidates, some supporters have decided the better strategy is to tear apart the leading Republican’s biography and weaponize divisions within her family.
Families are complicated. Politics makes them more so. The Hickel relatives who signed the letter are entitled to support another candidate, just as Wilson is entitled to run for governor and tell voters who she is.
They are also entitled to disagree about what Wally Hickel might think of today’s candidates. None of us can know with certainty what a man who died in 2010 would say about the political landscape of 2026.
But nobody gets to tell Bernadette Wilson that Wally Hickel was not her great-uncle or that she must erase him from her life story.
She is a Hickel. That is not a campaign slogan. It is her family lineage. If only we all had families that could leave such strong legacies!
And if anyone wonders which Republican candidate is leading this race, watch where the attacks are going. Candidates at the back of the pack don’t attract this kind of coordinated attention.
The arrows are generally aimed at the one out front.
Suzanne Downing is the founder and editor of The Alaska Story and is a longtime Alaskan who was born on the wild Oregon coast.
19 thoughts on “Suzanne Downing: You can tell who the leading Republican candidate is for governor by the attacks”
Composed and graceful response to what I am sure was a painful public drubbing by members of her own family. Suzanne is right red on red political attacks are both self inflicted gunshot wounds and unnecessary. Any Republican candidate will be better for this state than any Democrat. Ms. Wilson gained my respect with her class and dignity of her response. We have to do better because while no Republican is perfect, the other side is crazy.
That WAS indeed a first class response. At least during one point in my life….I’d have used a bazooka. Then again, Carrie Fisher missed when she launched her shot at Jake.
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I’m not going to grace the pathetic loser that posted their hit piece, with so much as giving thought to figure out who it was. I’ll simply echo Ms. Fisher’s words to Jake:
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You contemptible pig!
You miserable slug!
Well, the Hickle family just shows themselves no different than an Alaskan dysfunctional family.
In a functional (and healthier family group) despite their differences from Ms Bernedette Wilson and her Hickle family relatives. a healthier and smarter family group
would conclude despite differences they’d focus on “another Hickle captured the Governor’s office (again). They’d support her for family name and its continuance.
To be honest after hearing about one Hickle grandson is serving jail time for child pornography
They’re not smart not enough to spend time with their own kids spending quality time and quality reading time with to had raised up struggling adult children with alcohol addictions and porn addiction.
US Nicholas Begich iii was shown more public support from his well know uncles Mark Begich and Nick Begich and the rest of the Begich clan.
They know despite their nephew holds different opinions, a Begich holding the US Representative office is a win for the whole family.
I’ll be voting for Bronson.
Me too.
Though I support Dave Bronson, I commend Mrs Wilson for seeking public office, but she needs many more years of life experience and show that she’s done something great for a large number of people whether on a business level or in a public office level.
She has great enthusiasm and makes her point with great emotion. She’s just too young and needs to gain more knowledge.
Thanks for demonstrating what a logical fallacy looks like. You are essentially asserting we should vote for Tom Begich because he has more “life experience” than Bernadette Wilson. Life experience is merely one in a long list of attributes needed to be an effective leader. I’ve spoken with Ms Wilson. I’ve heard her debate the 12 other Republican candidates at the last Lincoln Day dinner. She is very well grounded in conservative ideology and very effective at communicating her positions without notes. She is an experienced entrepreneur. All the “life experience” in the world is useless if you follow Karl Marx’s philosophy.
Good argument, Wayne. Joe Biden, older than Trump and with lots of life experiences, couldn’t sign his own name as president, peed his pants regularly, couldnt utter a comprehensible sentence and was installed like a toilet to the presidency.
Trump runs circles around Biden, and yet the Democrats hold Biden in high regard.
Candidates often spend a lot of time, money, and resources presenting themselves as something they’re not. Towards the end of the race, other candidates and those who oppose them call them out on it. This is nothing new.
This story is a nothing burger excuse to promote Bernadette. Again.
Can’t wait to see what you drum up next week.
I’m voting for Bernadette. She has the knowledge, the Alaska know-how, and the kohonehs to get everything done! She will not be intimidated by any person. I, also, like that she owns a business and knows how very important private business ventures are to our state.
If I ran for dog catcher I would be perfectly entitled to say I knew Wally Hickel and followed his advice to shape my world view. After all, Mr. Hickel willingly became a public figure. In doing so, he accepted that his name would become a household term within the public domain. I cannot see how Bernadette Wilson’s referring to her grand-uncle Wally Hickel should offend anyone, much less the Hickel family. Furthermore, the Hickel boys need to learn they do not own Governor Hickel’s name. Moreover, the letter they wrote says more by what it doesn’t say rather than by what is written. What’s really going on?
Why not publish the actual letter, instead of a biased description of it, alongside Bernadette’s response? Might your readers discover that Wally Hickel‘s children have some valid concerns about Bernadette’s campaign?
Where were the defensive pieces when the same political writer Landfield published Bernadette’s boudoir photo shoot as well as an article on the lawsuits against Denali Disposal? A little too risky to address those scandals?
Do we really want a Governor who’s not savvy enough to clean up her online profile before running for office? Or have politics in Alaska stooped so low that nobody cares?
Integrity should matter. Some candidates have it, some don’t.
And really, “red-on-red political violence”?
Violence? The Left has won the war on words here if conservatives are now describing campaign attacks as “violence.” Framing a candidate in an unfavorable light is no more “violent” than circulating the Hickel letter is inherently “vicious.”
It took me around 10 seconds to find the letter on the net. Since such is problematic for you I am happy to share the link, here it is: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513741-cid-8b6fa59b-0599-4d87-accd-023010793ece/
No thanks necessary.
The familial humor in Suzanne’s article caught my funny bone. Especially, since I am a Republican and voting for Bernadette, NB3 and Dan S. Sullivan. Years ago when I worked on a large gubernatorial campaign, for a candidate other than Wally Hickel, I had a rare chance to meet with him. I was sitting at the back entrance of the Captain Cook Hotel (3rd Ave) eating my sack lunch while relaxing in one of those large cushioned chairs. My feet were propped up on the coffee table. I was looking through the campaign material of Wally’s chief competitor in the Republican primary. Wouldn’t you know, a large car pulls up to the entrance and out comes Wally and Ermilee strutting into their hotel. They both stopped, looked at me, my sack lunch, coffee cup (I had purchased coffee across the street), and the campaign material from the candidate I was working for. I stood up and shook hands with both the Mr. and Mrs. and told them that with such a fine hotel as the Captain Cook, Wally would make a great governor for Alaska. That was in 1990. And he won.
Well Henry, did you vote for Wally?
Bernadette certainly stood her ground and made a huge impact when she publicly called out the horrible actions of the Anchorage Assembly during the infamous covid lockdowns. She called out each and everyone of the individuals who were responsible for the destructive financial as well as emotional impacts their ignorant rules had on every age group within the Municipality. People were having to travel to the valley just to escape the madness and breath fresh air. I will NEVER forget what she did and how those fools squirmed as the people attending cheered her actions. She has my vote for Governor more so because of her Lt. Governor choice as Mike Shower is a class act well deserving and capable of either position. I want them both in my corner of the octagon when it comes to dealing with RINO’s in Juneau because she can take a punch and come back with something better. A class act from both of them.
The landmine sure has a stick in the exhaust over Bernadette.
Interesting comments above.
My concern is that every candidate has to be viewed through the prism of their life experience.
Bronson is a pilot, a responsible position, however one that is void of dealing with people and learning the ” art of the deal”. The pilot is a controlled position, Center gives him his altitude, course and whatnot. Essentially he is skilled at making nasty crosswind landings. A lifetime of personal interaction isn’t Bronsons strong suit.( his term as mayor proved that).
I’m not sure who I’m voting for. I’ve narrowed it down to the alluring woman in fishnet stockings who also operates a garbage truck business and that Finnish gillnetter turned Doctor.